Today as I was driving into a gas station while coming home from a trip, I saw a homeless man walking down the road approaching the store I was going into. The man was in his fifties with gray hair, a scruffy beard, a thin body, a torn red backpack, and an old water bottle that was approximately 1/4 of the way full. He was homeless and did not have much except for the raggedy clothes on his back and whatever he had in his slender lifeless backpack. The man also was walking his black and white dog with a leash that was only hanging by a few threads. The dog was very dirty, but I could tell that the mutt of a dog was very comfortable with this man. As I was inside of the store purchasing a water bottle, I saw the man outside of the store taking a small bowl out of his backpack and pouring the remainder of his only water bottle into the bowl for the dog to drink. After the dog had lapped up the small amount of water given, the man took the last slice of bread out of his back pack and shared it equally with his furry companion. The man sat on the bench across from the convenient store and ate his bread, smiling and petting his dog who was alongside of him. As I approached the cashier to pay for my water I proceeded back to get two more bottles as well as two cold sandwiches they had pre-made. As I paid for my purchases I walked to the bench and asked the homeless man what his dogs name was and what breed. He replied saying that his dogs name was Sampson and that he was a mutt. He had found Sampson a few years ago as a puppy thrown into a garbage can and had taken care of him since. When he found Sampson he was very emaciated, sickly, scared, and weak. The man dug through trash cans to find food, blankets, and and any water that was left over that the puppy could have to survive. As the weeks passed by Sampson grew stronger and even began to develop a personality of his own. He was eating, drinking water, and sleeping in a blanket at night to stay warm. Sampson began to depend on his owner to provide shelter, food, nurturing, protection, and love. He had developed a trust for this man after the man had saved him from his pain, loneliness, sickness, and potentially death. When Sampson had no one else and was thrown away as trash, the least likely person picked him up and saved him when everyone else had abandoned him. The man proceeded to tell me how much he loved Sampson and how he kept him company since he did not have any family left alive. His parents died in a car crash when he was fourteen and the only other family he had was his seven year old sister. Since there was no other family to take care of the two children, they were both split up and sent to separate orphanages. That was the last he ever saw of his sister and he spent the next four years of his life waiting to be adopted. After the orphanage released him he joined the military and was shipped to Vietnam to fight in the war for several years. When the war was over he returned home to be alone once more and made his home in South Carolina while he worked for an insurance company for some time. He met a woman named Martha whom he fell in love with and eventually married. They bought a small home in South Carolina and had a daughter shortly after named Jenny. Jenny was his whole world, for the short period of time that him and Martha had her on earth. His daughter died unexpectedly in the middle of the night, what we now call sudden infant death syndrome when she was five months old. After his daughters passing his wife was an emotional wreck and could not function properly. One day she left a note saying good-bye, with all of her belongings taken out of their home by the time he returned home from work. The man was alone once more and now more broken that ever. He began turning to alcohol, night life, and women for comfort. His party life style was fun at first but turned into a unhealthy addiction that led to health problems, losing his job, losing his home, and being on the streets. Instead of having a birthday party with his family in his home to celebrate his 40th birthday, he was underneath a bridge trying to fall asleep. He had been homeless for nearly thirteen years and the happiest part of his life turned out to be when he found Sampson.
Now when you look at a person the first thing you notice is their physical appearance. We observe the clothes they are wearing, their hairstyle, smile, shoes, and accessories. We began to develop a mindset of what this person is like, what they do, and where they have been in life. If a person appears homeless, we think they made dumb decisions their entire life to bring them there. When we see women half naked at clubs every night we think they sleep around and seek attention from men where ever they can get it. When we see people dressed in all designer clothes we think they are stuck up, have everything possible, and a perfect life. A lot of what we see with our outward eyes can be true, but one thing that each individual has in common is that there is a reason behind the way each of us live our lives. Perhaps the man on the street lost everything, the girl dancing at the club is heart broken, the wealthy person has everything material wise but their home life is a disaster. While each of us is so vastly different, we are all so alike being that we all have had pain. We have lost loved ones, been hurt, had our hearts broken, lost our jobs, barely made enough for bills, and felt as if we are all alone.
In reality, each of us are Sampson at one point or another in life. We are thrown away by those who are supposed to care, left alone, and broken in every way possible. We lay helpless and find it hard not to give up under certain circumstances life brings our way. We desperately seek a person to love us unconditionally, bring us back to life, and save us from our worries and pains. The person to come along to save us might not be what we expected, but blessings come in all forms. For a small abandoned puppy the savior was a homeless man, but for us our savior is God. We can never tell what a person has gone through just through outward appearance or what they may feel in their heart, but we can know that we all have that one person willing to save us even when no one else is around.
I did not have lunch with this homeless man that I saw feeding and giving water to his dog at the convenient store, but if I had then what would be the story of his life? As I continued my drive back home I began wondering why a man who had nothing would share his everything with an animal when he did not have to. I wondered why that dog was so important that he would give his life; his food, water, and shelter to someone who could offer nothing in return but to love him. What he showed was unconditional love. A love where you put someone above yourself and do so happily. The love this homeless man was displaying by simply being the care taker of a dog was similar to that of the love God has for his children in my eyes. God does not have to watch over us, make sure we are provided for, or save us... but he chose to love us unconditionally through all of our stages and simply asks for our love in return. He sees past the appearance and actions and looks into our heart. He knows our pains, sufferings, and hearts desires and tells us that if we trust and follow Him, that he will give us the desires of our heart.
The next time you seek someone that you would be quick to judge, imagine all of the stories that the person could tell you if you were to ask them the story of their life. What would you be judged for, and what would your story be?
"Keep on loving each other as Christian brothers. Do not forget to be kind to strangers and let them stay in your home. Some people have had angels in their homes without knowing it. Remember those in prison. Think of them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering because of what others have done to them. You may suffer in the same way." -Hebrews 13:1-3
By: Lauren Robbins
Now when you look at a person the first thing you notice is their physical appearance. We observe the clothes they are wearing, their hairstyle, smile, shoes, and accessories. We began to develop a mindset of what this person is like, what they do, and where they have been in life. If a person appears homeless, we think they made dumb decisions their entire life to bring them there. When we see women half naked at clubs every night we think they sleep around and seek attention from men where ever they can get it. When we see people dressed in all designer clothes we think they are stuck up, have everything possible, and a perfect life. A lot of what we see with our outward eyes can be true, but one thing that each individual has in common is that there is a reason behind the way each of us live our lives. Perhaps the man on the street lost everything, the girl dancing at the club is heart broken, the wealthy person has everything material wise but their home life is a disaster. While each of us is so vastly different, we are all so alike being that we all have had pain. We have lost loved ones, been hurt, had our hearts broken, lost our jobs, barely made enough for bills, and felt as if we are all alone.
In reality, each of us are Sampson at one point or another in life. We are thrown away by those who are supposed to care, left alone, and broken in every way possible. We lay helpless and find it hard not to give up under certain circumstances life brings our way. We desperately seek a person to love us unconditionally, bring us back to life, and save us from our worries and pains. The person to come along to save us might not be what we expected, but blessings come in all forms. For a small abandoned puppy the savior was a homeless man, but for us our savior is God. We can never tell what a person has gone through just through outward appearance or what they may feel in their heart, but we can know that we all have that one person willing to save us even when no one else is around.
I did not have lunch with this homeless man that I saw feeding and giving water to his dog at the convenient store, but if I had then what would be the story of his life? As I continued my drive back home I began wondering why a man who had nothing would share his everything with an animal when he did not have to. I wondered why that dog was so important that he would give his life; his food, water, and shelter to someone who could offer nothing in return but to love him. What he showed was unconditional love. A love where you put someone above yourself and do so happily. The love this homeless man was displaying by simply being the care taker of a dog was similar to that of the love God has for his children in my eyes. God does not have to watch over us, make sure we are provided for, or save us... but he chose to love us unconditionally through all of our stages and simply asks for our love in return. He sees past the appearance and actions and looks into our heart. He knows our pains, sufferings, and hearts desires and tells us that if we trust and follow Him, that he will give us the desires of our heart.
The next time you seek someone that you would be quick to judge, imagine all of the stories that the person could tell you if you were to ask them the story of their life. What would you be judged for, and what would your story be?
"Keep on loving each other as Christian brothers. Do not forget to be kind to strangers and let them stay in your home. Some people have had angels in their homes without knowing it. Remember those in prison. Think of them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering because of what others have done to them. You may suffer in the same way." -Hebrews 13:1-3
By: Lauren Robbins
